All Things New, by John Eldredge

Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual, by Jock Willink

Justified By Faith Alone, by R. C. Sproul

Whisper (Audible), by Mark Batterson

Martin Luther, by Eric Metaxas

The Bible (NLT), by God

Building a Story Brand (Audible), by Donald Miller

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard (Audible), by Dan & Chip Heath

Extreme Ownership, by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

The 12 Week Year (Audible), by Brian P. Moran

Recommended by Dan Forbes

Called To Create, by Jordan Raynor

Rising To The Call, Os Guinness

The Call (Audible), by Os Guinness

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If - by Mark Batterson

No Pressure, Mr. President - by Eric Metaxas

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
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Optimism An Essay, by Helen Keller

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
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The Call of The Wild, by Jack London

Reading the Bible Supernaturally (Audible), by John Piper

The Cross Centered Life, by C. J. Mahaney

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
512-773-6528
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Sermon Series: The Ultimate Goal of Reading the Bible | Desiring God

Session One:  http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-ultimate-goal-of-reading-the-bible

Session Two:  http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-supernatural-act-of-reading-the-bible

Session Three:  http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-natural-act-of-reading-the-bible-supernaturally

Switch on Your Brain, by Dr. Caroline Leaf (Audible)

Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl

Give and Take, by Adam Grant

 

Comments 

1. Intro Comments

Healing Back Pain by John E. Sarno, Audible audiobook

Healing Back Pain by John E. Sarno, narrated by John E. Sarno on my Audible app. Try Audible and get it here: https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B002V1OK7U&source_code=ASSORAP0511160006

Leaders Who Last, by David Kraft

The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann

Notes

THE FIVE LAWS OF STRATOSPHERIC SUCCESS

THE LAW OF VALUE 

Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. 

THE LAW OF COMPENSATION 
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. 

THE LAW OF INFLUENCE 
Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first. 

THE LAW OF AUTHENTICITY 
The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. 

THE LAW OF RECEPTIVITY 

The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Page 104 - “So the secret to success,” Joe went on, “to gaining it, to having it, is to give, give, give. The secret to getting is giving. And the secret to giving is making yourself open to receiving. What do you call this law?” Pindar raised his eyebrows. “What would you call it?” And Joe replied without hesitation: “The Law of Receptivity.”

Living With A Seal, Jesse Itzler

How Good is Good Enough, by Andy Stanley

Prayer (Audible), by Timothy Keller

Crush IT! (Audible), by a Gary Vaynerchuk

7L - The Seven Levels of Communication, by Michael J. Maher

No Limits, by John C. Maxwell

Page 281 - Characteristics of a Positive Growth Environment

1. Others Are ahead of You

2. You Are Continually Challenged

3. Your Focus Is Forward

4. The Atmosphere Is Affirming

5. You Are out of Your Comfort Zone

6. You Wake Up Excited

7. Failure Is Not Your Enemy

8. Others Are Growing

9. People Desire Change

10. Growth Is Modeled and Expected

The Surprising Power of The Coil, by Greg Campbell

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
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The Goals Program (Audible), by Zig Ziglar

Book: Surprised by Hope, by N. T. Wright

N.T. Wright challenges the common Christian perception of heaven as a distant, ethereal place where souls go after death. Instead, he emphasizes a biblical vision of heaven as God's realm, which is ultimately coming to renew and restore creation.

In Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, N.T. Wright challenges traditional Christian understandings of heaven and presents a biblically grounded vision of the future. Here are his key points on heaven:

1. Heaven is Not the Ultimate Destination

• Wright argues that the common idea of heaven as a place where souls escape to after death is a misunderstanding of biblical teaching.
• Instead, heaven is God’s space—His realm, which will one day fully merge with earth in the renewal of all things (Revelation 21-22).
• The final hope is not disembodied existence in heaven, but bodily resurrection and life in the new creation.

2. The Biblical View: New Heavens and New Earth

• The Bible does not describe heaven as a place where Christians will live forever. Instead, it speaks of God making all things new (Revelation 21:5).
• Wright emphasizes that Jesus’ resurrection is the model for what will happen to believers—not a departure to heaven, but resurrection into a transformed, embodied life.

3. Heaven is a Present Reality, But Not a Future Escape

• Wright describes heaven as God’s dimension of reality, which exists now but is largely unseen.
• He challenges the dualistic idea that heaven and earth are separate and never meant to meet.
• Instead, heaven will come to earth, as seen in the Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

4. What Happens Immediately After Death?

• Wright acknowledges that there is an intermediate state where believers are “with Christ” after death (Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43).
• However, this is not the final destination—it is a temporary waiting period until resurrection and new creation.
• He calls this “life after death,” but the ultimate hope is “life after life after death”—the resurrection of the body.

5. The Resurrection of Jesus as the Key to Heaven’s Meaning

• Jesus’ resurrection was not a spiritual escape but a physical, bodily event.
• This signals that God intends to redeem and restore the material world, not abandon it.
• Heaven is not a place where we escape from earth, but the future union of heaven and earth is what Christians long for.

6. Christian Mission in Light of Heaven

• If heaven is about God’s kingdom coming to earth, then Christian mission is not about escaping the world but working with God to bring glimpses of His kingdom now.
• This includes justice, beauty, and evangelism—actions that align with the ultimate renewal of creation.

Final Summary

Wright completely reorients the conversation on heaven. Instead of a distant place for souls, heaven is God’s realm that will one day fully merge with the renewed earth. Our ultimate hope is not going to heaven when we die, but resurrection into new creation, just as Jesus was raised. This changes how Christians live today—working for God’s kingdom now rather than seeing heaven as merely a future escape.

*Compiled Comments 

Intentional Living, by John C. Maxwell

Decide, by Gino Wickman

Born to Win (Audible), by Zig Ziglar

Hand Me Another Brick, by Charles R. Swindoll

Never Eat Alone

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
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Traction, by Gino Wickman

3rd time. Slowly this time with DMS leaders.

An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture, by ANDREW M. Davis

Danny L. Smith, CMPS
512-773-6528
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The Richest Man in Babylon, by Charles Conrad

Desiring God, by John Piper

New York, by Edward Rutherfurd

Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis (Audible)

James: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

Holy Bible, by God

Crazy Love (Audible), by Francis Chan

Silence, by Shusaku Endo

London by Edward Rutherford

The Autobiography of George Muller